


May Your Days Be Merry and Bright

by alltheginjoints



Category: Destiny (Video Games)
Genre: Dawning, F/F, Fic Exchange, Winter Solstice
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-01
Updated: 2019-01-01
Packaged: 2019-10-01 21:11:07
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,082
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17251463
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/alltheginjoints/pseuds/alltheginjoints
Summary: Created as part of a holiday fic exchange!Marlow ropes Cayde and Ikora into planning a holiday surprise for the love of her life, Quinn. Everyone in the tower is in cheery, bright spirits, and Marlow wants to use the occasion—and Eva Levante’s oven—to make Quinn a Winter Solstice surprise she'll never forget.





	May Your Days Be Merry and Bright

**Author's Note:**

  * For [bluesunshinedays.tumblr.com](https://archiveofourown.org/gifts?recipient=bluesunshinedays.tumblr.com).



> Cayde is alive in this version, don't @ me

Marlow loved the Tower during the winter solstice, the Dawning, as everyone in the City called it. Despite the harsh cold, everyone pitched in for the festivities; banners were hung all throughout the Tower, illuminated by the soft light of dozens of orb lanterns scattered throughout, Amanda helped guardians fit their sparrows with festive bells, Ikora created a dazzling ice projection that hovered near her post on the balcony, and—possibly the most anticipated part of the festivities—Eva Levante had finally repaired her cherished oven and was ready to supply everyone with deliciously festive baked goods. 

It was Eva that Marlow looked for now, slinking around the Tower under the early evening light of the Traveler, along with her ghost, Roswell. They needed the former clothier’s help with a surprise for Quinn. 

Quinn. Marlow smiled to herself, the circuits in her eyes flickering just thinking about her. This would be the first proper Dawning they could celebrate together—last year was too chaotic in the wake of the Red War; and despite everyone’s valiant efforts to muster up holiday cheer, too much had been destroyed by the Red Legion, too many city residents were still mourning the loss of their previous lives to embrace the festivities to the fullest. But with the Red Legion scattered, Xol dead, and the Black Armory foundries up and running, Marlow felt like she finally had a moment to breathe and with that moment, she’d make the best holiday surprise for Quinn, ever. 

Well, with a little help from some friends at least. 

She found Eva tinkering with her oven in one of the alcoves near Ikora’s post. She heard Marlow’s approach as she straightened up and brushed her flour dusted hands over her apron. Marlow opened her arms, embracing the small woman in a tender hug, her chin just barely brushing the top of Eva’s grey head. She broke away, holding Marlow’s metal hands in her own, giving them a quick squeeze before turning back to check on her creations in her oven. 

“Eva, I need a favor.”

“What can I help you with my dear?” 

Marlow described her ideal pastry for Quinn in hushed tones, careful to not be overheard by any passerby. Eva rubbed her hands together, excited to get started. 

“Meet me in my quarters just after midnight tonight—we have some experimenting to do! Oh, and bring all your ingredients you want to try”, she added, tugging on Marlow’s sleeve. 

“See you then Eva “, Marlow kissed her cheek. “Oh, and thanks”, she turned around, giving Eva a tiny finger gun of appreciation. Roswell gave her a silent, reverent nod. 

One part down, two more to go. She strode off in search of Cayde. 

_________________________________________________________________

Despite the evening hour, the hangar was still noisy and bustling with activity. Ships flew in and out as shipwright apprentices conducted routine maintenance under the watchful eye of head shipwright, Amanda Holliday. She met Marlow’s eye as she walked in, giving her a little salute of acknowledgement. Marlow winked at her as she scanned the room for the Vanguard’s resident Hunter. 

“Yo, Cayde”, she whispered, sidling up behind him, “I need your help”. 

He spun around, cloak flourishing. “What’s up Marlow?” He met her fist in their secret complicated handshake that was indecipherable, even to their ghosts. 

“I need your help, a bit of a favor really, it’s nothing.”

He held up a hand, swiveled around to his ghost, “Did you record that? Please tell me you have the illustrious lone wolf Marlow needs MY—”, he was cut off by Marlow chuckling as she waved his quips down.

“It’s for Quinn.” 

“Ahh, well, that—”, in one smooth motion, he pulled out a stool for Marlow as he sat on one of the hangar workbenches, “changes everything doesn’t it?” He grinned, cutting his eyes at her. 

If she was capable of blushing, she would be, “I’m serious! I really want to pull this off.”

“I know you do, which is why I’m not sure why you want to include me in it”, he smirked. 

“Oh quit it”, Roswell piped up, peering out from under Marlow’s cloak, “it’s so foolproof even you could do it.”

Cayde raised his eyebrows, impressed, “The Dawning must have you feeling spicy Roswell, I like it! Speaking of spicy, can we have this conversation over a couple hot bowls of ramen?” 

Marlow cocked her head, “as long as it’s on you.”

He stood, flourishing two completely filled-out punch cards—free ramen. “For you, of course.”

_________________________________________________________________

Cayde was right about the ramen. As he slurped his noodles, she laid out her plan. He bobbed his head in enthusiastic agreement, gesticulating wildly in excitement. This was how Ikora found them.

“What are you two up to?” she said with a hint of accusation in her voice, startling Cayde into dropping his spoon. 

“Ikora! You’re actually the last person I need to talk to”, Marlow pulled up another chair, motioning for her to join them.

Ikora narrowed her eyes as she smiled. “Alright” she said, taking the empty seat, “I’ll bite. What are you two up to?”

Cayde and Marlow looked at each other and smiled, and in complete sync, looked at Ikora, their eyes full of mischief. 

“It’s for Quinn.”

Ikora smiled wide, leaning in. Although she would never openly admit it, Quinn was one of her favorite warlocks, both in battle and as a friend. “Alright. What are we doing?”

As they laid out the plan for Ikora, Marlow got a sinking feeling, a pit where her stomach would be. Everyone else knew their roles, and she trusted them to execute their respective parts perfectly. It was all up to her to make the most important part as perfect as possible, as Quinn deserved nothing short of perfection. Staring off into the middle distance, she bounced her leg in anticipation as the time to meet Eva drew closer. 

Roswell picked up on her anxiety spike, emerging out from under her cloak as Cayde and Ikora laughed over old stories from their younger days. “You know you’re going to do fine, right?”

Roswell’s remark startled her, dragging her back to reality. “I know, but it’s still nice to have that reassurance”, Roswell gave her a tiny fist bump, as best as a ghost could manage. 

Marlow smiled, “Thanks Roswell. Love ya kid.”

They finished up, draining their bowls and finishing up their drinks. They nodded at each other in mock seriousness, ready to play their respective parts.

_________________________________________________________________

“Eva!” Marlow swept into her quarters, practically vibrating with excitement, “I’ve got it, I know exactly what I want to make!”

Eva cleared some space on the counter, motioning for Marlow to put her sack of ingredients down. 

“I’ve got everything I’ll need, I think: oil, some flash of inspiration, and—”, she hefted a velvet purple pouch, “this will be the tricky part I think. I want to use Baryon Bough to make frosting with.”

Eva pursed her lips, “Oh I do love a challenge Marlow. Let’s get to work.”

They worked into the early hours of the morning, Marlow and Roswell baking and Eva working to extract the deep, rich purple of the Baryon. Several dozen batches of donut holes and several failed experiments in frosting, they had done it. 

“You’ve really outdone yourself on this one”, Eva said, wiping her brow with her wrist. 

“I couldn’t have done it without you”, Marlow said, her voice quiet and grateful.

They both fell silent, marveling at Marlow’s masterpiece for Quinn. Three mountains—the iconic Warlock Vanguard symbol—of donut holes, a shared favorite of Ikora’s and Quinn’s, but with a twist paying homage to Quinn’s Voidwalker abilities. Eva worked her magic to extract the shimmering purple of the Baryon Bough, creating a mouthwatering frosting that cascaded over the entire creation. 

Eva wrapped an arm around Marlow, pulling her into a side hug. “She’s gonna love it.” 

Marlow smiled to herself, nodding silently. 

_________________________________________________________________

“Quinn!” 

Quinn looked up from her reading, surprised to see her mentor. “Ikora! What a wonderful surprise, what brings you here?” 

They were in one of the Tower’s central libraries, which was usually crowded with other guardians looking to brush up on their history or warlocks looking for more arcane knowledge. But with many guardians taking advantage of the Dawning celebrations, the library was deserted, apart from Quinn and a few other guardians. 

“Quinn, I was wondering if you would be interested in going to the rare book room with me, I need to—”

“Oh, absolutely I’ll go with you!” Quinn scrambled to gather up her things.

“No rush at all, when you’re done here, you know where to find me.” Ikora patted her shoulder as a farewell.

The prospect of going to the Tower’s rare book room lifted Quinn’s spirits instantly. Junebug, her ghost, picked up on her mood shift, blinking cheerily into her eye line, “How exciting, I know how much you love the rare book room, and what a nice break from some of those Crucible and Iron Banner matches!”

Quinn’s face clouded. She was a resilient competitor, but her performance this past week had been...less than her best, and as much as she shook it off and rolled with the punches, it got to her, and despite Junebug’s relentless optimism, the losses seeped into her mood. An inopportune time, as it put a damper on her enthusiasm for Dawning celebrations. 

She idly wondered what Marlow was up to. She hadn’t seen her since yesterday, and then it was briefly. Shaking her head, she rearranged her books and started working again. There was always more to learn; more spells, more history about the Traveler, more ways to become a better guardian. 

_________________________________________________________________

“Cayde, did you get it?”

He swaggered into the room, hands behind his back, smirking. “Of course I did!”, he exclaimed with a flourish. 

He unveiled a small band: plain flexible carbon fiber dyed black, with a deep purple Voidwalker emblem. A new bond. Cayde had, somehow, managed to arrange for a custom leather backing, etched with all the things Marlow wished she could tell Quinn; how much she loved her, what she’d tell her when she was feeling down, what she’d say in the heat of battle, what she’d whisper to her as they drifted off to sleep, everything. 

“It’s perfect.” Marlow’s eyes would be full of tears if her Exo body was capable of it. 

“Hey, don’t get too sincere on me now, I have an image to uphold!”

Marlow guffawed, despite herself. She took the bond, exchanging her secret handshake with Cayde, and got back to work. With his part of the surprise done, he absorbed Marlow’s work.

In just a few hours, she had transformed, with the blessing of Ikora and the Cryptarchs, one of the alcoves in the rare book room of the Tower library into an intimate dining room for two. The soft glow of lanterns lit the space, illuminating a table for two, draped in shimmery cloth. The windows were draped in some of the opaque banners that festooned the rest of the Tower, and while the cryptarchs wouldn’t allow candles in the library, Ikora managed to create smaller versions of her glittering ice sculpture that hung over the table. 

“Impressive work Marlow.” 

“Thanks”, Marlow said, her voice jittery and anxious, her hands roaming over the table, setting and resetting the plates and silverware. 

Cayde brushed her arm, startling her. He met her eyes, “You’ve got this. She’s gonna love it.”

She pulled Cayde into a bear hug, “Thanks Cayde. I can’t tell you how much I appreciate you”, she said, her voice cracking. They laughed, taking the tension off of Marlow.

Their heads snapped in unison to the window, where they heard a tapping. Marlow pulled back one of the curtains to find Louis there, pecking his beak at the window. The signal. Quinn and Ikora were on their way. 

_________________________________________________________________

Ikora led Quinn through the winding passages of the library. The cryptarchs that ran the library insisted on two person integrity when using the rare book room, with one of those people being a member of the Vanguard leadership (depending if Cayde was in the good graces of the library staff), or a cryptarch. All of those people were usually very busy, and guardians usually weren’t able to get inside, so Quinn relished any opportunity she had to go. 

The short days of winter cast darkness early. Quinn liked the early nights at times, it gave her a plausible excuse to turn in early, go study, or spend time with Marlow. 

Marlow. She couldn’t wait to tell Marlow about going to the rare book room, an involuntary smile spreading across her face, already imagining how she’d gush to her about all the new things she’d learn. 

Ikora paused outside the door to the rare book room. “Feel free to go in and look around, I’ll just be a moment.” She loosed the bolt on the door and bade Quinn inside. Quinn nodded and slipped past her into the dim room beyond. The door closed behind her and she heard Ikora’s footsteps retreat. 

The room was darker than she remembered, the low lighting illuminating the dark walls lined floor-to-ceiling with shelves laden with books. She tread carefully over the plush carpet, edging around errant stacks of books toward the brightest light source in the room, in one of the alcoves. 

_________________________________________________________________

Marlow heard the door close and stood in anticipation of Quinn’s soft footsteps approaching. Roswell hovered nearby, silent. 

The moment Quinn stepped into the lantern light, Marlow would have given anything to slow down time or record this moment somehow, to savor her reaction. Surprise, confusion, joy, gratitude, sadness, love—they all danced across her face as her irises glowed and the forces beneath her skin swirled. 

“Marlow, what are you doing here?! What is this?”

“Can’t a girl have dinner with the love of her life?” Marlow flashed a dazzling smile and lifted a silver dome covering their meal. Setting the dome to a side table, she pulled back Quinn’s chair, and with mock formality, guided her by the elbow to sit, covering her lap with a cloth napkin. 

Roswell caught Junebug’s attention and motioned for the ghost to follow, leading them out of the room. 

The food, which Marlow prepared with a little help from Eva, was Quinn’s favorite; the pair ate in relative silence only punctuated by the occasional “mmm!” or “ooh!” as they relished the pleasure of sharing a meal together. 

But the best was yet to come.

Quinn finished her meal after Marlow, she dabbed at her mouth with her napkin. “Where are you going?”

Marlow looked over her shoulder mischievously, “Oh honey, you didn’t think that was the only thing I planned?” She disappeared behind a series of shelves, only to emerge with what Quinn knew was the most incredible pastry in existence. 

Marlow fought her smile as she saw Quinn’s eyes grow wide and her mouth involuntarily form a perfect ‘o’ shape. She set her creation down between them, and slipping a small package out of her suit pocket, she held it in front of Quinn.

“It wouldn’t be a true Dawning if I didn’t get you a little something special.”

“Marlow, how could you!”

“You can be mad at me later, don’t let all my hard work go to waste now.”

Quinn unwrapped the package, untying the ribbon and setting the paper off to the side to save later. Marlow smiled to herself; Quinn was so careful, the complete opposite of how Marlow ripped and shredded wrapping to get at what was inside. 

Tears welled in Quinn’s eyes as she ran her fingers over the bond, tracing the edges of the carbon fiber, her thumb tracing the lines of the Voidwalker emblem. She paused as her fingers found the leather backing, tracing the words Marlow had inscribed there. She looked up at Marlow, her eyes were wide, their endless depths filled with everything she could never sufficiently convey. Marlow held her gaze, caressing the sides of Quinn’s face, tracing the shapes that shifted beneath her cheeks, in the soft hollows just under her eyes. Leaning down, she kissed Quinn’s forehead. 

“Now then”, she said, straightening up and retaking her seat, she crossed her legs jauntily, “shall we try my baking experiment?”

Quinn laughed, a few tears squeezing out of the corners of her eyes, “It looks incredible, how did you do it?”

“I could tell you, but then I’d have to kill you”, Marlow quipped. 

Quinn popped one of the bite-sized pieces into her mouth, “Oh, honey, this is terrible.”

Marlow looked crestfallen for a moment, but narrowed her eyes as she took her own piece. Quinn laughed as Marlow chewed, “I’m only kidding, these are delicious!”

Marlow’s body sagged in relief, “Don’t scare me like that!”

They munched on a few more pieces, barely making a dent in the donut holes numbers. 

Quinn looked up at Marlow. “I think we’re going to need help.”

“Well it wouldn’t be a true Dawning if you didn’t share”, Junebug chirped as she glided into the room, Roswell in tow, “shall we gather up your cohorts?” Junebug asked, spinning around to face Marlow. 

“Absolutely, we'll meet them out there!”

“Who else—”, Quinn stopped as Junebug zipped out of the room towards the hall. 

“Now, as incredible as I am”, Marlow said, gesturing showily to herself, “there’s no way I could have done this alone.” She stood, holding a hand out to Quinn, as she hefted the donut holes onto her hip, “now, let’s go bring this out to everyone, Ikora would be furious if she missed out on trying these.”

Quinn slipped her hand into Marlow’s, quickly kissing her cheek as she stood. 

“I love you, you wonderful dingus.”

“I love you too you wonderful void-wielding angel love of my life.”

They held each other’s gaze for a moment, until Quinn booped Marlow on the nose, “come on, let’s go.”

“Oh one more thing, Quinn, I’m sorry.”

Quinn spun around in surprise. “What could you possibly be sorry for?”

Marlow gestured around the room. “About the books. The one opportunity you get in here and I ruin it with my beautiful, well crafted, expertly executed dinner plans.” 

Quinn rolled her eyes in mock frustration. “I’m sure you’ll find a way to make it up to me.”

Marlow winked. They both knew she would.

**Author's Note:**

> I hope you enjoyed this Selma <3


End file.
